60-second cinema

1 out of 10 Sentimental tripe. Really, really bad. Can’t believe I stayed to the end. Avoid.

10 out of 10 An old-school animation with a big heart, The Iron Giant tells a wonderful story. The tale a robot fallen to Earth from space, befriended by a young boy and hunted down by The Man, its plot shares similarities with that of E.T. E.T., however, never had to struggle against his nature to prove his benign intentions and that’s where this film excels. Yes, it’s moralising, but in a perfectly acceptable way that nevers intrudes. Towards the end, it was proper lump-in-throat, tear-in-eye stuff and only a strong desire not to make a fool of myself helped me keep it all together. Highly recommended. In fact, I can’t think of a bad thing to say about it, hence the top marks.